Allegiance United Kingdom Battles and wars World War II Years of service 1941 - 1985 Service/branch British Army | Battles/wars World War II Rank Brigadier Name Michael Dauncey | |
 | ||
Commands held 126th Infantry Brigade
1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment Awards Distinguished Service Order | ||
Died at 97 British Army brigadier Michael Dauncey
Brigadier Michael Donald Keen Dauncey, DSO, DL (9 May 1920 – 23 August 2017) was a British Army officer who participated in Operation Market Garden during the Second World War.
Contents
Market Garden
On the first day of the operation, 17 September 1944, Dauncey flew a Horsa glider into Arnhem. Several days of fighting ensued, during which he sustained eye injuries. Despite being blinded in one eye, he fought on, but was taken prisoner. With another officer he escaped from a Dutch hospital on a rope of knotted sheets and hid in the Utrecht English Parsonage for four months. He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for bravery shown during this battle.
Later life
After a number of appointments he was made Colonel of the Cheshire Regiment in 1978.
In retirement he lived in Uley, Gloucestershire, with his wife Marjorie (née Neep). He died on 23 August 2017 aged 97.